CALLING ALL CAJUNS! A Publication of The Acadian Memorial Foundation MAJOR MILESTONE This Calling All Cajuns! issue marks the 20th anniversary of the AMF newsletter. Since last fall, the Memorial staff has gathered, scanned and bound newsletters and event programs dating back to 1992. The result is a rich 20-year history of Acadian Memorial s conception, development and growth. Past issues are freely available in full color on our website, where each issue is listed individually with a download link. In addition, the Memorial assembled the original newsletters into a bound volume that can be viewed upon request. National Day of the Acadians August 15, 2012 Wednesday, August 15, 2012 is National Day of the Acadians. The Acadian Memorial will be celebrating with a full program from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. FREE and open to the public including a special mural exhibit, La Table Français, Plant and Herbal Lore program, Hell or High Water: How Cajun Fortitude Withstood Hurricanes Rita and Ike book signing, children s scavenger hunt, film presentation, Martin Family Genealogy, Family Banner procession and French mass. For additional information, contact us at 337.394.2233 or visit our website at www.acadianmemorial.org See the complete program listing on page 5. The Calling All Cajuns! Newsletter began with the Fall 1992 issue and was published twice a year until 2002, when it became a triannual newsletter. The newsletter appeared sporadic and without an editor from the years 2006 to 2009. Currently, it is a quarterly newsletter appearing in March, May, August and November of each year. RESERVE YOUR FAMILY BANNER FOR THE NATIONAL DAY OF THE ACADIANS: Allain Arcement Arnaud Arseneau Aucoin Babineau Baudoin Bellefontaine Belliveau Benoit Bergeron Bernard Bertrand Blanchard Boucher Boudrot Bourgeois Bourq Brasseur Breau Broussard Caillouet Caissy Chauvin Chiasson Comeau Cormier Crochet Daigre David Doiron Doucet Dugas Duon Dupuis Duplessis Forest Gallant Gaudet Gauterot Girouard Goguen Guidry-Guedry Guilbeau Guillot Granger Gravois Haché Hébert Henry Jeanson Landry Lanove Le Breton Le Blanc Léger Le Jeune Le Mire Lirette Maillet Martin Mazerolle Melanson Mouton Naquin Petitpas Pitre Préjean Robichaud Richard Rodrique Roger Roy Samson Saulnier Savoie Serner Simon Surrette Templet Terriot Thibodeau Trahan Vautour Vincent Young
Calling All Cajuns 2 News from the president-elect Ralph Melancon Bonjour! My name is Ralph J. Melancon, Jr., and I have recently been voted to serve the Acadian Memorial Foundation Board of Directors in the role of President Elect. Being involved with the Acadian Memorial and serving the Board has thus far been a great honor and privilege and a testimony of reverence for my exiled ancestors whose names are listed on the memorial s Wall of Names. Osite Hebert veuve Alexandre Melanson, as she is listed on the Wall, and her children were settled in the St. Jacques de Cabanocey Acadian settlement in 1766. Hence my Cajun family spent their lives settling in the St. James and Lafourche areas, which were officially referred to at that time as the First and Second Acadian Coasts of the mighty Mississippi River. I became involved with the Acadian Memorial after devoting many years retracing my family s historical footsteps. I researched the church and court documents found in the original St. Charles de Mines Sacramental Records from Grand-Pré, which are housed in the Diocese of Baton Rouge office. My family s history is also recorded in French among the handwritten colonial files of the St. James Parish Court House. Through the court documents, historical plats and pre-statehood Louisiana land records, a connection was found that involved a land dispute revealing the approximate location of the land awarded to my famly after coming out of exile and into Louisiana. The drive led me to visit the lands and the communities in which they lived and died. This research and passion evolved into a mission of photographing and documenting my travels of South Louisiana, both eastern and western Acadiana, in order to preserve our Cajun culture and to connect with the Acadiana people. It found me connecting with the communities along our Cajun bayous, our Cajun coast, the Attakapas and visiting our Cajun historic sites and festivals for the purpose of sharing our wonderful Acadian culture with the world, fishermen and their families, and visiting our Cajun historic sites and festivals for the purpose of sharing our wonderful Acadian culture with the world. Please find me on Facebook, Louisiane Acadien. You can also enjoy my historical work and photography travels at www.louisianeacadien.com and www.flickr.com/louisianeacadien/sets. This year, the Acadian Memorial Foundation will embark on planning and implementing many cultural heritage events, celebrations and fund raising opportunities for the Acadian Memorial. I invite and encourage you to unite with us in that effort. Please join us at our next board meeting on Thursday, August 16th at 6:00 p.m. at the Acadian Memorial, as I look forward to meeting and connecting with all of the Acadian Memorial Foundation s Board of Directors and members. It is an honor and privilege to serve the Acadian Memorial Foundation as President Elect, and I look forward to rejoicing in my continued associations with you all. Bien Merci, Ralph President-Elect, Acadian Memorial Foundation Cormier Crest Sponsored by The Cormier Family Association Description and Meaning of the Cormier Crest: The shield is silver with three ornaments. The first is a fess ( fasce ) or a wide horizontal strip in the middle, representing a military belt or Girdle of Honor worn in ancient times. Secondly, a pelican feeding its young with its own blood rests on this band. The pelican symbol dates back to the Middle Ages and is a symbol both of devotion and of the resurrection. Thirdly, a heart located at the bottom of the shield in the point represents sacrifice. Above the shield is a count s crown. Crowns have a number of forms and vary by country. The crown for a French count is different from any other. Generally, a count s crown will have nine or ten points, each ending in a pearl. Indications of gems are sometimes found on the band. Cormier Roots: Champagne, France is the location of the ancestral home of the Cormier Family. The name is derived from the old French word Corme, which means the fruit of the Sorb or Service Tree. It was given to someone who lived near such a tree or who sold its fruit at the market. The name Cormier is believed to have originated from ancient Brittany de Chambray. Michel Cormier, Our Acadian Link: In 1755, 10,000 French Acadians refused to take an oath of allegiance to England and were deported and eventually resettled in Louisiana. Amongst the early settlers in Louisiana with this distinguished name of Cormier was Michel Cormier, who settled here in the Acadian Region. He is our Acadian and French connection that can be traced back to several generations. His name is listed on the Wall of Names at the Acadian Memorial. We salute our ancestors and acknowledge their contributions in carrying on our family heritage.
Calling All Cajuns 3 Living Legends induction WARREN PERRIN INDUCTED RAY AND BRENDA TRAHAN INTO THE ORDER OF LIVING LEGENDS 28 ON JULY 28 28 TH AT THE DAY OF REMEMBRANCE Saturday, July 28th, the Acadian Memorial paid homage to the memory of those Acadians who perished as a result of their violent expulsion by the British from their homeland of Acadie. A mass was held at St. Martin de Tours Catholic Church in St. Martinville that afternoon, the intentions of which included the memory of those Acadians. Following the mass, the Acadian Memorial held a reception with over 70 in attendance. As in the past, the Memorial played host to the Acadian Museum of Erath s Order of Living Legends induction ceremony. Nominated by the Acadian Memorial Foundation, Ray Trahan and Brenda Comeaux Trahan were inducted into the Order of Living Legends by Warren Perrin. Mr. Perrin presented Brenda and Ray with an Order of Living Legends certificate from the Acadian Museum of Erath and an Acknowledgement of Induction into Living Legends from Governor Bobby Jindal. Following the induction, guest speakers congratulated the Trahans and messages were read from those who could not attend. Guest speakers included Mrs. Warren Perrin and Carlin Trahan of the Acadian Museum of Erath, Janie Bulliard and Marty Guidry of the Acadian Memorial Board of Directors, Grande Maître Elray Schexnaider of the Confrérie d Abbeville Omelette, and a video message from President of Société Nationale de l Acadie, René Leger of New Brunswick, Canada. We received responses to our invitation from around the world congratulating the Trahans that were read at the gathering. One such response was from Donald and Mireille Fiest of Nova Scotia who said, Ray and Brenda truly deserve this recognition, for all the hard work they accomplished, the relationships they have fostered and the legacy they have built. We are so happy for them as their careers and lifes works are being honored. Brenda and Ray plan to continue their mission to preserve and promote our Acadian/Cajun heritage, as they announced that they would participate in le Grand Réveil Acadien 2016. This humbling honor of being inducted to the Living Legends warms my heart. What I was able to do for the preservation of the Acadians was a privilege; something I did with a huge team of others who feel the same way. I am blessed to have been given the opportunity of leading the Acadian Memorial, which put me in the position to make a difference in that effort. I will live with that pride forever. - Brenda Comeaux Trahan I am really honored to be recognized as a Living Legend. Success cannot be achieved alone. I am grateful to all the friends who worked alongside of me for all these years in helping preserve our French language, culture and heritage. I encourage all the people of Acadian descent to stand up and show their pride for the survival and great accomplishments of our ancestors. - Ray Trahan Visit our website to read more about Brenda and Ray s accomplishments and their merits for nomination and selection. For more information about the Order of Living Legends, visit Acadian Museum of Erath s website: www.acadianmuseum.com
Calling All Cajuns 4 Collecting Acadian Gravestones Jane G. Bulliard Marty Guidry is not your ordinary graveyard junkie he has a goal which is to find graves of Acadians who were born in Acadia before being deported or who were born in Acadia prior to 1764 and remained in Acadia successfully avoiding deportation. That is how he describes his quest in the Summer 2012 issue of Generations his on-line newsletter in an article titled Gravestones of Original Acadian Deportees. With his permission we picture below four of the seven gravestones Marty writes about. These are located in Lafayette and St. Martinville and coincidentally are gravestones of two sets of brothers Jean and Marin Mouton, sons of Salvatore Mouton and Jean Baptiste and Pierre Broussard, sons of Alexandre Broussard. All of the men are on the Wall of Names and the Mouton family is depicted on the Mural at the Acadian Memorial. Guidry s article gives more details on the events of their lives that ended in southwest Louisiana far from the land of their birth. Other gravestones noted in the newsletter were found in Charleston, South Carolina, St. Mary s, Georgia and Surrette s Island, Nova Scotia. Read the complete article online at http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~guidrylabinefamily/ newsletters.html and at the Acadian Memorial website. Pictured top left: Marin Mouton (c.1758-1834) Private Residence (Lacour Estate), Mouton Cove, Louisiana; Botton left: Pierre Broussard (c. 1750-1828) St. Martin de Tours Catholic Cemetery (behind church), St. Martinville, Louisiana; Center: Jean-Baptiste Broussard (c. 1731-1825), St. John the Evangelist Catholic Cemetery, Lafayette, Louisiana; Right: Jean Mouton (c. 1754-1834), St. John the Evangelist Catholic Cemetery, Lafayette, Louisiana call for volunteers Interested in being a part of the Acadian Memorial? We have plenty of exciting events and ongoing projects that would benefit from the assistance of volunteers. The Foundation is seeking committee members for the 2013 Acadian Memorial Festival and the 2013 L Ordre du Bon Temps gala. The Acadian Memorial and Museum needs help with digitization projects, historical and genealogy projects, kids activities, and library organization. Call or e-mail the Acadian Memorial with your name and contact information today, and let us know when you are available 337.394.2258 or info@acadianmemorial.org
Calling All Cajuns 5 National Day of the Acadians Program Come to the Acadian Memorial on August 15th for a day of commemoration and festivities ALL DAY FREE ADMISSION to the Acadian Memorial and the Museum of the Acadian Memorial A special exhibit in the Memorial on the mural The Arrival of the Acadians in Louisiana, by Robert Dafford, commemorating 20 years since the commissioning of the mural in 1992. 10AM-12PM La Table Français, Acadian Memorial, 2nd Floor, Join us for some French conversation and coffee all levels of French speakers welcome especially beginners! 12:30-1:30PM From Commission to Completion: Celebrating 20 years of the Mural. This exhibit includes Robert Dafford s various renderings of the mural from his first sketch to the final painting along with a timeline and photo presentation followed by Theatre Acadien reenactment performances that bring the mural characters to life. 1-2:30PM Plant Lore and Heritage Garden Tour Dr. Ray Brassieur, Associate Professor of Anthropology, presents plant and herbal lore of the Bayou Teche region collected by Charles Bienvenu in 1933 and the role of traiteurs, religion, magic and prayer in traditional medicine practices. Presentation followed by self-guided walking tour of the Heritage Garden along the Evangeline Oak Park boardwalk. 2-3:00PM Film Presentation, Representing Culture in the Movies - by Conni Castille, Museum of the Acadian Memorial, TV room. Over the past few years, she has directed several award winning documentaries on Cajun and Creole culture that have been supported by the Louisiana Division of the Arts and the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. Her films include I Always Do My Collars First (2007, Raised on Rice and Gravy (2009), King Crawfish (2010), and T-Galop: A Louisiana Horse Story (2012). 2:30-3:45PM Presentation and Book Signing, Hell or High Water: How Cajun Fortitude Withstood Hurricanes Rita and Ike by Ron Thibodeaux. Hurricane Katrina attracted all of the national attention in 2005, but residents of Louisiana s gulf coast remember Hurricane Rita as the other Louisiana disaster of 2005. Rita clobbered communities across the entire 250- mile coastal foundation of Acadiana before making landfall in Cameron Parish. From one end of the Louisiana coast to the other, towns were flooded, populations were left homeless and without public services, and communities were all but wiped off the map. Incredibly, three years later, powerful Hurricane Ike provided an instant replay, taking an eerily similar track and slamming many of the same communities across South Louisiana. Hell or High Water is the story of those places, their people, and their shared triumph against adversity. 4-4:30PM Children s Scavenger Hunt, Museum of the Acadian Memorial. Race to find answers to questions about our Acadian History and Heritage provided throughout the museum. Prizes will be awarded to the winners. 4-5:15PM Martin Family Genealogy, Acadian Memorial, 2nd Floor Conference Room. Presentation on the Martin Family by J. E. Delahoussaye, donor of the 75 long genealogy scroll of Claude Martin s descendants. This visual family history was created for the 1999 Congrès Mondial Acadien held in St. Martinville and was displayed in Canada during the Congrès Mondial Martin reunion of 2004. The scroll will be on display in Louisiana for the first time since its 1999 viewing. 5:30PM 5:45PM 6:00PM Family Banner Carriers Gather to receive banners and instructions, Acadian Memorial. Family Banner Procession to St. Martin de Tours Catholic Church Feast of the Assumption, French mass featuring the Acadian Choir, St. Martin de Tours Catholic Church
Calling All Cajuns 6 Merci Bien We ve been busy here at the Acadian Memorial, with our Annual Membership Meeting, organizing and cataloging our library, genealogy workshops and our July 28th program. Acadian Museum of Erath, James Akers, Laura Alexander, Lynn Bonin, Janie Bulliard, Cynthia Champagne, Brooksie Conery, Barbara DeJean, Emma Green, Patty GuteKunst, Casae Hobbs, Ralph Melancon, Randy Menard, Isabelle Pointer, St. Martin de Tours Catholic Church, St. Martin Parish Tourism, Charmaine Sevasten, JessieThibodeaux, our Board of Directors and all of you who attended and participated in our programming Merci Bien for making our efforts a success! Recap Annual Membership Meeting The Acadian Memorial Foundation s Annual Membership Meeting was held on Wednesday, June 13th at the Memorial and a reception followed at the Maison Duchamp. Attendees enjoyed a veritable feast catered by board members and a private viewing of the official Louisiana Bicentennial Exhibit. The Acadian Memorial Foundation Board of Directors held elections for Officers and Board Members and welcomes those selected to serve in supporting our mission. June 2012-June 2013 Officers (1 Year Term) President vacant President-Elect Ralph Melancon Secretary Carole Gauthier Lancon Treasurer Jane G. Bulliard June 2012-June 2013 Board Members (3 Year Term) Sylvia Bienvenu Jane G. Bulliard Paul Durand Guy Broussard J. E. Delahoussaye Paul J. Hardy Carole Gauthier Lancon Christy D. Maraist Eric Martin William Thibodeaux Randy Menard Georgie Zeringue Blanchard The Acadian Memorial now offers The Deportation of the Acadians, an accurate survey of the major events that occurred and Dykes & Aboiteaux, detailing how the Acadians turned salt marsh into fertile meadows. These excellent booklets, available online and onsite, are bilingual and $4.00 each.. Bienvenue A warm welcome to our new members of the Acadian Memorial Foundation: Theresa H. Ables, Breaux Bridge, LA Paul H. Bergeron, Knoxville, TN James & Lona Bourque, Youngsville, LA Michelle V. Johnson, Lafayette, LA Carroll & Nona LeBlanc, Lafayette, LA Eric Martin, St. Martinville, LA Susan Rabalais, Church Point, LA Robert M. Tatum, Houston, TX Brenda & Ray Trahan, Lafayette, LA Deborah Daigle Turkleson, Houston, TX Kenneth & Susan Verret, Broussard, LA Ensemble Encore Charles Olivier Guillot finally has the correct parents and marriage information for his entry in the Acadian Memorial s genealogy database, thanks to his descendant, Preston Guillotte of New Iberia, Louisiana, who submitted the information. From the record of his 1766 marriage to Madeleine Boudro we learn that his mother was Marie Madeline Arcement, not Anne Braud as previously speculated, and his father was Jean Baptiste Guillot. The marriage record also states that he is a native of the parish of L Assomption in Acadie which indicates a birth place of Pisiguit contradicting previous listings of his place of birth as Cobeguit. In Dictionnaire Généalogique des Familles Acadiennes, Part 1 (xxviii and xxix) Stephen White tells us that Our Lady of the Assumption parish was created at Pisiguit in 1722 on the west bank of the Ascension River as a division of Holy Family parish established in 1698 on the east bank of the river; the church parish at Cobeguit was Saints Peter and Paul. Records of all three parishes are lost. The Guillotte submittal also reveals four previously unknown children born to Charles and Madeleine, three of whom were born and buried in Nantes, France. The Guillot family departed France for Louisiana in 1785 aboard the St. Remi and esta-blished their family at Bayou Lafourche in the area of Thibodaux where it is speculated that Charles Olivier is buried in the family plot at St. Joseph cemetery. -Jane G. Bulliard
Acadian memorial 2012 events calendar AUGUST August 12 - Acadian Memorial Genealogy Booth at Vermilionville Visit the Acadian Memorial 121 South New Market St. St. Martinville, LA 70582 Telephone: 337-394-2258 www.acadianmemorial.org info@acadianmemorial.org Open 10:00 am to 4:30 pm daily, except for major holidays Current admission: $3 for ages 13 and up includes: Acadian Memorial & Cultural Heritage Center Guided tour packages are also available. Tour groups and field trips are welcome! Please call for rate and reservations. Curator and Director: Michelle Verret Johnson Tourism Cordinator: Jessie Thibodeaux Docent:/Tourism & Curator s Assistant: Cynthia Champagne Docent/Historian/Tour Guide: James Akers Docents: Laura Alexander, Merlin Champagne, Amelie Emma Green, Patty GuteKunst August 15 - National Day of the Acadians, 10-7PM at the Acadian Memorial August 29 - Genealogy Workshop on St. Martin Parish Courthouse Genealogy Resources, presented by John Wayne Wiltz, 10-11:30 a.m. at the Acadian Memorial SEPTEMBER September 26 - Genealogy Workshop on Acadians in Gray, presented by Steven Cormier, 10-11:30 a.m. at the Acadian Memorial September 29 - Museum Day Live! Free admission passes available at Smithsonian.com OCTOBER October 19 - L Ordre du Bon Temps Membership Dinner Join today! See Friends donation form page 7 October 31 - Genealogy Workshop on DAR/SAR resources presented by Norma Lester and Rogers Romero, 10-11:30 a.m. at the Acadian Memorial Acadian Memorial Foundation, Inc. P. O. Bos 379 St. Martinville, LA 70582 Calling All Cajuns! A Publication of the Acadian Memorial Foundation, Inc. Editor: Christine Duhon